Yehoshua Chapter 18
This chapter begins with a description of how Yehoshua moved the Mishkan from Gilgal to a new location in Shilo. Yehoshua gathered the entire population together and criticized the tribes who had been reticent about conquering and settling the land that Hashem had promised them. He encouraged them to complete the process as soon as possible.
To this end, Yehoshua requested the appointment of three men for each tribe who would scout the land and record the borders of the seven portions of land that remained for the seven tribes who had not yet acquired any territory of their own. Once these seven parcels were identified, they would be assigned to the respective tribes by lottery and the responsibility of capturing and settling them would fall to their recipients.
The chapter concludes with a detailed description of the borders of the territory of the Tribe of Binyamin, which was positioned in between Yosef (Ephraim) to the North and Yehudah to the South.
The connection between the relocation of the Mishkan and the remainder of the chapter is difficult to understand. Why was this the appropriate time to move the national sanctuary to a new neighborhood? Apparently, Yehoshua understood that the Jewish people had become comfortably habituated to living as one in a single valley in Gilgal – the same kind of lifestyle they had enjoyed for the past forty years – and that this was a key reason for their resistance to continuing the conquest of the land. They preferred to stay together, close to the Mishkan and under the direct supervision of their leaders and elders.
By disbanding the camp at Gilgal and relocating the sanctuary to Shilo (within the forests of his own tribe, Ephraim), Yehoshua undermined the status quo that had become so cozy and familiar and thereby pushed the tribes to go out on their own and establish new settlements in the land. Undoubtedly, there are echoes of the famous story of the Tower of Bavel in this narrative – the idea that the entire population occupied one valley, wished to remain united and feared and opposed any prospect of dispersion. Here, as there, only a commandment of Hashem and a pulling of the rug from underneath their feet compels them to pick up, move out of their immediate comfort zone and go about the business of inhabiting the entire land.
Two aspects of the borders of the Tribe of Binyamin are important to mention. First, Binyamin lies between Ephraim/Yosef and Yehuda. It is certainly no accident that Yosef and Yehuda the brothers were ultimately reunited and reconciled with one another as a result of the situation with Binyamin who “came between them”. Geographically, Binyamin creates a bridge to connect the two “personalities of leadership” and their descendants who will determine the political and spiritual future of the nation.
Second, the Hebrew term “ketef”, or shoulder, is used numerous times in the description of the borders of Binyamin, alluding to the blessing of Moshe Rabbenu that Hashem’s presence will dwell “between the shoulders” of Binyamin. The Bet HaMiqdash will ultimately be built in the territory of Binyamin, and this national center of worship of Hashem and Torah study is the foundation that brings Yehuda, Yosef and the entire Jewish people together as one despite their differences.